Yesterday's Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the issue of sexual assaults in the military didn't produce buy-in on a solution from the top military leaders that were called to testify. Senators
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and
Claire McCaskill (D-MO)
grilled the assembled generals and admirals over the current policy of handling assault cases in the chain of command. Noting that victims fear that reporting abuse to their superiors will destroy their careers, the Senators demanded that the military remove such cases from the chain of command, but were met with resistance.
All of the training and stand downs won't cure the problem if the process is broken, which it is. Many of the abusers are serial offenders, and many are in supervisory/command positions. Telling a subordinate to take an abuse allegation up the chain of command is justifiably seen as career suicide, and that process has to be replaced whether the brass likes it or not.
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photo: Sen. Gillibrand questions military leaders. CBS News photo)
